Despite the international significance attached to climate change adaptation, there remains a
lack of understanding of the key barriers that impede the effective implementation of
adaptation strategies by households across sub-Saharan Africa. Better understanding of the
vulnerability of agriculture-dependent households to climate variability requires exploration
of the barriers that constrain the implementation of adaptation strategies. This paper uses case
studies from northeast Ghana and a systematic literature review to assess the barriers that
restrict effective implementation of climate adaptations in sub-Saharan Africa. Results
suggest that households are constrained by a range of barriers, the most important of which
included financial barriers, institutional barriers and a lack of information on climate change
characteristics. Findings highlight that the provision of credit facilities, development of early
warning systems, effective communication of climate information and an understanding of
the local context within which adaptations take place, are necessary pre-requisites to enhance
climate adaptations and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Households need to be
supported through the provision of micro-credit schemes, community empowerment and
extension initiatives aimed at enhancing social networks within farming communities in order
to reduce their vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate variability.

Description:

An article published in Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, Working Paper No. 154, October, 2013